Media Advisory - Ontario Youth Host Town Hall with Wynne, Horwath and Schreiner Today

May 7, 2018, TORONTO /CNW/ - Premier Wynne, Andrea Horwath, and Mike Schreiner will be engaging with youth from across the province today at a Youth-Focused Town Hall at the Daniels Spectrum for the finale of Ontario's Youth Week prior to the CityTV debate today at 1:30pm.

Yafet Tewelde, Program Director of For Youth Initiative, notes that "urgent youth issues such as unemployment, education, foster care and policing have been the focus of policy for the last few years. Elected officials need to hear from youth this election to be effective."

Each party leader will be provided an equal opportunity to individually answer a series of questions prepared by young people from across the province. The event will be moderated by TVO host, Nam Kiwanuka to an expected in-person audience of over 250+ people. The event will be live-streamed on Twitter prompting questions from across Ontario.

Participating organizations have iterated their enthusiasm and emphasized the importance of this unparalleled opportunity for youth to engage with political leaders on issues of importance to them. "This Youth Town Hall is the most important opportunity to reach young voters for each party this provincial election season," said Michael Thorburn, Manager of Research and Communications at the Citizen Empowerment Project. "The event will capture the concerns and aspirations of Ontarian youth, and offer each political leader in attendance the chance to put their party's commitments to young voters on their most far-reaching platform yet."

The event has been put together by a collective of organizations including the Laidlaw Foundation, TVO, For Youth Initiative and CivicAction, and will provide an opportunity for leaders to make clear their positions and commitments addressing the concerns of Ontario's young people.

The event is scheduled for two-hours marking the finale of Ontario's Youth Week on Monday, May 7th, 2018 from 1:30pm-3:30pm at Daniels Spectrum, Ada Slaight Hall.

Media scrums may be available in the green room on the second-floor of Daniels Spectrum following each party leader's scheduled appearance.

Members of the Youth Town Hall Planning Committee: CivicAction, The Citizen Empowerment Project, the Ryerson Democratic Engagement Exchange, the Laidlaw Foundation, For Youth Initiative, the Toronto Youth Cabinet, Apathy is Boring, the Young Women's Leadership Network, TVO.

About the Laidlaw Foundation: The Laidlaw Foundation is a private, charitable, family-foundation established in 1949, well-known for supporting youth-led social change through funding direct action projects, research and convening.

SOURCE The Laidlaw Foundation

For media or interview related inquiries, please contact: Chaviva Manson-Singer, Laidlaw Foundation, 437-775-6742, [email protected], www.laidlawfdn.org